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A Word with You - April 28, 2017

I thought I might have to live to 100 to see the widening of this major highway in our area ever get finished. Man, it took forever it seemed like! But the trip north, oh now, it's a breeze. I love it.

And I know why it took so long - mountains. Yeah, see, they were trying to put a road where there were hills and mountains, and those don't just move real easily. After all, they've been there quite a while. But they did move, because even a mountain was no match for explosives like dynamite. It's amazing what dynamite can do. It just blows away whatever is in its way.

Now, I love the fact that the Bible calls the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus, "the power of God." In fact, our word for today from the Word of God comes from Romans 1:16, where Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."

Let's go back to that power word. The original Greek word that God uses is "dunamis." And you can probably figure out what we get in our English from that - dynamite. The message of Jesus' death for us on the cross and His resurrection from the dead is God's dynamite!

I spent July praying for and encouraging 60 Native American and First Nations young people, and I got to watch them share that explosive Message on ten Indian reservations. They were right out in the open; they're on basketball courts in the middle of everything. They were facing obstacles that have hobbled missionaries for centuries - the belief that "Jesus is only the white man's god," "We have our own Native religion; we don't need Jesus." They were facing the belief that "All religions are basically the same." They were facing objections that "Bad things were done to us in the name of Christianity."

But God used these brown-skinned ambassadors of our brown-skinned Savior to detonate God's dynamite. I saw it happen. I was an eye witness to hundreds of Native young people doing what so few of them have ever done. They were putting their lives in the hands of Jesus; many of them publicly. I remember telling some of our team members who were weeping over some young people who didn't come to Christ. I said, "Yeah, but you put the stick of dynamite in their heart. Remember, dynamite blows away whatever is in its way."

You know, with the victories, there were tears that summer. They saw a lot of kids turn their back on Jesus, in spite of a young warrior who poured out their heart to reach them. It's a heartache that's not unique to reservation rescue attempts. A lot of us are carrying a heavy burden for someone who just doesn't seem to care about the Savior who cares so very much for them. And we wondering, "Will they ever come to Jesus."

On those nights when I saw the tears of brokenhearted rescuers who had to leave someone lost, I gave them an awesome promise from God. Psalm 126:5-6, "Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest."

Remember, when you give someone the Good News about Jesus, you're planting that stick of holy dynamite in their hearts. It's dynamite strong enough to demolish the walls, the defenses they have built around their lost heart. And God knows exactly what time is the right time to push "detonate."

No, it's way too soon to give up on that person. You told them about Jesus, and God's lit the fuse.